5 ms·

Top Texas regulator ousted as recording emerges of pledge to protect Wall Street

157 points by stefan_ 6y ago

mmhsieh 6y ago
what makes this fella remarkable is only that he said the quiet part loud.
- stefan_ 6y ago
  It's amazing. The best part for me was > “I went from being on a very hot seat to having one of the safest jobs in Texas" Some serious "seconds from disaster" energy there.
  - brundolf 6y ago
    Even better (from an article reporting on the original call): > “I think they probably enjoy having just one person up there because they can secure promises from me and I can’t say, ‘Oh, well, my fellow commissioners wouldn’t go along.’ It’s easier for everyone, actually. At a time like this when I’m communicating all the time with the Legislature, it’s easier to just be going through one person.” Just... just really laying it all out there. "Hey guys, I can do whatever I want, let's make some back-room deals"
- minikites 6y ago
  Conservatives recently realized that they can say the quiet part loud and not only will nobody punish them for it, more people will vote for you the louder you shout it.
  - Tarsul 6y ago
    only if you have clout. And never back down. So, you're right some [!] conservatives can say whatever they want and don't have to fret.
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
>had privately assured Bank of America analysts Knowing BofA I'm not at all surprised that people were recording the call.
- ethanbond 6y ago
  Knowing anything at all about how the real world works, not surprised people were recording the call.
  - throwawayboise 6y ago
    Everything is recorded now. Even a private one-on-one in-person conversation is likely being recorded. Did you check the other person's phone? Or ask them to leave it outside the room?
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - lowdose 6y ago
      I record every conversation I have when talking to public officials.
  - cosmotic 6y ago
    In many states, this would be considered illegal without consent from both parties.
    - geoduck14 6y ago
      In Texas, only one of the parties needs to know about the recording.
      - codyb 6y ago
        As well as in NY where BoA HQ is located.
rch 6y ago
https://archive.ph/cDsVD https://archive.ph/cDsVD
commandlinefan 6y ago
This is what drives me crazy about all of the hand-wringing about the weather disaster we had down here a few weeks ago: liberals keep insisting that we Texans deserved it because we voted regulation-averse politicians into office here, but it was actually the regulators themselves who turned it from an inconvenience into a humanitarian crisis.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  I am similarly suspicious of the idea of collective guilt, but when we hire incompetents for a particular task we can't be surprised when that task is performed incompetently.
- incomplete 6y ago
  > liberals keep insisting that we Texans deserved it because we voted regulation-averse politicians into office wow, that's quite a sweeping generalization right there. as a liberal, living in a very liberal part of the country, i can promise you that i never saw or heard anything but sympathy for all texans during that terrible time. i'm truly sorry that you feel that this was not the case.
  - minikites 6y ago
    Conservatives believe that liberals are just as spiteful as they are themselves.
  - duxup 6y ago
    Sadly many people's world view seems entirely influenced buy social media jerks, and weird "news" sources. Folks a few miles from me believe the city another few miles from me have Somali dominated 'no go zones' and folks in the city think everyone outside is a racist county bumpkin. Fortunately they can agree they both dislike the suburbs, where I live.
- FireBeyond 6y ago
  I wonder how long before D'Andrea goes to work for an energy company? Also, people on the right screaming about how gas prices have gone up "under Biden", wilfully ignoring that 30% of Texas refineries were shut down for 2+ weeks.
akudha 6y ago
insisted that repricing was illegal and potentially harmful to ratepayers Is this really illegal? Even if it is, how can someone say it is harmful to ratepayers with a straight face?
- microtherion 6y ago
  I wouldn't want to opine on "illegal", but, as much as I'm skeptical of privatized energy markets, it's not outlandish to think that if you're dealing with a counterparty that has the ability and inclination to change prices retroactively, you're probably going to add some extra margin up front to compensate for that risk, and on balance, it's not a given that the counterparty is better off.

157 points by stefan_ 6y ago

mmhsieh 6y ago

what makes this fella remarkable is only that he said the quiet part loud.

stefan_ 6y ago
It's amazing. The best part for me was > “I went from being on a very hot seat to having one of the safest jobs in Texas" Some serious "seconds from disaster" energy there.
- brundolf 6y ago
  Even better (from an article reporting on the original call): > “I think they probably enjoy having just one person up there because they can secure promises from me and I can’t say, ‘Oh, well, my fellow commissioners wouldn’t go along.’ It’s easier for everyone, actually. At a time like this when I’m communicating all the time with the Legislature, it’s easier to just be going through one person.” Just... just really laying it all out there. "Hey guys, I can do whatever I want, let's make some back-room deals"
minikites 6y ago
Conservatives recently realized that they can say the quiet part loud and not only will nobody punish them for it, more people will vote for you the louder you shout it.
- Tarsul 6y ago
  only if you have clout. And never back down. So, you're right some [!] conservatives can say whatever they want and don't have to fret.

throwaway0a5e 6y ago

>had privately assured Bank of America analysts Knowing BofA I'm not at all surprised that people were recording the call.

ethanbond 6y ago
Knowing anything at all about how the real world works, not surprised people were recording the call.
- throwawayboise 6y ago
  Everything is recorded now. Even a private one-on-one in-person conversation is likely being recorded. Did you check the other person's phone? Or ask them to leave it outside the room?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - lowdose 6y ago
    I record every conversation I have when talking to public officials.
- cosmotic 6y ago
  In many states, this would be considered illegal without consent from both parties.
  - geoduck14 6y ago
    In Texas, only one of the parties needs to know about the recording.
    - codyb 6y ago
      As well as in NY where BoA HQ is located.

rch 6y ago

https://archive.ph/cDsVD https://archive.ph/cDsVD

commandlinefan 6y ago

This is what drives me crazy about all of the hand-wringing about the weather disaster we had down here a few weeks ago: liberals keep insisting that we Texans deserved it because we voted regulation-averse politicians into office here, but it was actually the regulators themselves who turned it from an inconvenience into a humanitarian crisis.

jessaustin 6y ago
I am similarly suspicious of the idea of collective guilt, but when we hire incompetents for a particular task we can't be surprised when that task is performed incompetently.
incomplete 6y ago
> liberals keep insisting that we Texans deserved it because we voted regulation-averse politicians into office wow, that's quite a sweeping generalization right there. as a liberal, living in a very liberal part of the country, i can promise you that i never saw or heard anything but sympathy for all texans during that terrible time. i'm truly sorry that you feel that this was not the case.
- minikites 6y ago
  Conservatives believe that liberals are just as spiteful as they are themselves.
- duxup 6y ago
  Sadly many people's world view seems entirely influenced buy social media jerks, and weird "news" sources. Folks a few miles from me believe the city another few miles from me have Somali dominated 'no go zones' and folks in the city think everyone outside is a racist county bumpkin. Fortunately they can agree they both dislike the suburbs, where I live.
FireBeyond 6y ago
I wonder how long before D'Andrea goes to work for an energy company? Also, people on the right screaming about how gas prices have gone up "under Biden", wilfully ignoring that 30% of Texas refineries were shut down for 2+ weeks.

akudha 6y ago

insisted that repricing was illegal and potentially harmful to ratepayers Is this really illegal? Even if it is, how can someone say it is harmful to ratepayers with a straight face?

microtherion 6y ago
I wouldn't want to opine on "illegal", but, as much as I'm skeptical of privatized energy markets, it's not outlandish to think that if you're dealing with a counterparty that has the ability and inclination to change prices retroactively, you're probably going to add some extra margin up front to compensate for that risk, and on balance, it's not a given that the counterparty is better off.